New pet funeral operator system: prevent dumping of dead pet

• BanguIzai

  21 Jun 10, 00:26

  New pet funeral operator system aims to prevent dumping of dead animals

  The Ministry of the Environment is set to introduce a registration system for pet funeral operators to prevent the illegal dumping of dead animals.

  Amid the recent pet boom, there are many owners who hope to hold funerals for their beloved pets. However, there have so far been no regulations on pet funeral businesses, and the ministry is hoping to update the Act on Welfare and Management of Animals to control the illegal handling of deceased animals during the fiscal 2012 regular Diet session.

  In April this year, a pet funeral operator was indicted for dumping dead animals in the mountains in Hanno, Saitama Prefecture, in violation of the Act on Waste Disposal and Public Cleansing (Waste Disposal Act). Following the incident, the ministry decided that it needs to introduce legal measures to control dishonest service providers.

  "We would like to investigate if there are more illegal disposal cases," said the ministry's Office of Animal Companionship.

  According to a survey conducted by the Japan Pet Food Association, about 30 percent of dogs and cats kept as pets in Japan are over 10 years old, meaning they have already reached old age in pet terms. Another survey conducted by pet magazine publisher Yaseisha Co. revealed that the number of pet funeral operators and other relevant businesses has more than quadrupled to over 800 companies over the past 20 years.

  Under the current Act on Welfare and Management of Animals, all pet dealers are required to register their businesses with prefectural governments; however, pet funeral firms are not subject to the same rule.

  Currently, dead pets in general are regarded as domestic waste, but they can be treated differently depending on their owners' wishes, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare's administrative notice in 1971. The vague standards, however, have made the handling of dead pets complicated.

  The ministry's Central Environmental Council is discussing criteria for pet funeral firms, as well as late-night and online sales of pet animals during its meeting on animal protection that began on June 16.

  (Mainichi Japan) June 19, 2010

   

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